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by Levene Wong It is often said that "Art is the universal language". Even without words, a painting or a song can convey emotions of joy and gladness, grief and sadness. Art speaks to each one of us in a unique way that mere facts and figures cannot. You will be hard-pressed to find a culture or people group that does not express themselves through art — be it in stories, songs, dances or drawings. This insatiable desire to create can only be attributed to the God who by himself created the world — and we reflect His creativity through expressions of our own. For most of us, our culture and identity is closely knit with these expressions, many of which are central to rituals to commemorate significant events in our lives and community. More importantly, it is an expression of community, kinship, and belonging. To choose to forsake these rituals would be a declaration of isolation and separation from the community. Unfortunately, for many people groups today, when individuals turn to Jesus and embrace a new way of life, they are viewed as forsaking their own culture and community. Christianity is perceived as a foreign religion — with its Western songs, instruments, and style of worship. To follow Christ is akin to turning one’s back on one’s own family. On a warm August morning, a group of believers from four different hill tribes gathered in a church, a quiet haven in the middle of a city buzzing with activity. As they sat in a circle, they shared shyly about the songs and poems they had created since they had last met, two and a half years ago, in that very same church. Then, they had learned about how every culture and language is precious to God, and that they could worship God even more meaningfully through their own language and cultural expressions. Dao*, from the Jishan* tribe, sang a lilting chant in a strong steady voice, in a style very similar to what he used to sing as a shaman before coming to know Christ. Hoang*, from another tribe, played on a stringed instrument commonly used in his village. It had a body fashioned from a gourd, with a long slender neck holding the strings taut. It was his first time sharing this song with anyone outside his family, he said. Tim and Marg*, Senior Musicologists and Arts Consultants, listened attentively and shared how encouraged they were to see how far each of the hill tribes had progressed. These new songs, they explained, were not just for the believers themselves, but would be the very tools that they would use to bring the gospel right into the heart of their communities. In order for the message of the gospel to effectively reach its audience, the messengers have to take into consideration the culture of the listener, yet at the same time maintaining the accuracy of scripture that the message is based on. The illustration given was that of an arrow and a target. The feathers on the arrow help to balance and stabilise the arrow so that it is able to hit its target accurately. An imbalance on either side of the arrow would cause it to miss the mark. For many people groups, it is a radical idea that they can worship God in their own language and songs, not just the national language and with western songs. The good news of Jesus Christ is for all cultures and all peoples. It is not an exclusively western religion, requiring people to turn away from their own cultures to embrace a foreign one. When people worship in their own culture, and their own language, God becomes real to them, and it is a powerful witness to the rest of the community that God loves their language, their people, and their culture. In Indonesia, Sulawesi, the Tado people saw transformation in the lives of people in their community through a worship song. After working hard together during a songwriting workshop, the people came up with a song about a little boat being tossed about by waves. The people were able to identify with it because it reflected their lives and culture so clearly, and many were moved to hear a worship song in their own language for the first time. Watch the video for the full story below

A Storying Fellowship Group (SFG) is a way of enabling people to hear and reflect on Scripture. This is done in the form of telling Bible stories orally in natural, colloquial language. It is believed that two-thirds of the world’s population learn orally, preferring to communicate and learn through spoken rather than written means (learn more here ). In four sessions from July-August 2022, Wycliffe Singapore (WSg) and Wycliffe Malaysia (WMB) jointly conducted a Mandarin SFG using a series of three stories from the book of Jonah. Through the sessions, participants from Malaysian and Singaporean churches listened to the three stories, re-told them, and reflected on the stories in small groups. Participants also had a chance to discuss how using the SFG method compared to other methods of Bible study, and who SFGs could be used with. An SFG participant shares his experience One of the Singaporean participants, Alan Chan, shares his experience of attending SFG for the first time. Why did you sign up for SFG? After serving in my church’s befriender ministry, I wanted to learn how to reach out in Mandarin. It was challenging at first, but my small group facilitator was very encouraging. Did anything surprise you? The trainers were so captivating and passionate. I felt like a Sunday school child again! Although we were encouraged not to refer to the Bible during the session and to only read the Bible after the session was over, I could not resist looking at the Bible as I was surprised by how the story of Jonah ended. It was really like that. I never realised the ending was so surprising before! How was your overall experience with SFG? It was a real eye-opener because we started to think out of the box! Having gone through it, is there anything you would like to tell others about SFG? Try it at least once in order to appreciate how effective storytelling can be! Can SFG be used in Singapore? SFG is not a new method. It has long been used in overseas mission fields, especially among people groups that rely primarily on oral traditions. Singapore is a highly literate country, with an adult literacy rate of 97.13% in 2020. However, though literate, many of us do learn well through aural and oral methods, such as through stories, videos and podcasts, possibly better than relying only on written methods. Many existing Bible study methods in Singapore rely on written texts. Perhaps sharing and reflecting on oral stories can complement text-based Bible study methods, helping Scripture to come alive to people of all backgrounds. Even Christians can find new insights when hearing the stories instead of reading them. And perhaps stories, communicated orally, can be a way of sharing Christ to pre-believers in a non-intimidating way, inviting them to think about who God is, and to mull over what Scripture says about God and the world He created. If you are interested in finding out more about oral storying, or participating in a workshop , please contact us . Read about Oral Bible Storying in other countries: Malaysia: https://wycliffe.my/en/the-beginning-of-oral-bible-storying/ Another Asian country: https://www.wycliffe.sg/news/we-can-share-story Read about a past workshop: https://www.wycliffe.sg/blog/crafting-stories-reflect-internalise-tell

Dedication of the Romblomanon New Testament. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (Psalm 119:105) This verse was the motto for the Romblomanon Bible dedication which was held on 27 April 2019, and reflects the desire of the translation team – that the word of God in the Romblomanon language will truly speak to the hearts of the Romblomanon people and be the light for their paths. A member of Wycliffe Singapore, Phyllis Rappa, was part of this translation team. She joined Wycliffe Singapore as a secretary, then became a member in 1987. After completing her linguistics training, she was assigned to the Romblomanon project in 1993 when the previous team had to leave. Romblon is an island in the Philippines. She learned the Romblomanon language before beginning translation, and was later joined by a family from Hong Kong. Over the next 25 years, together with local team members, they completed drafting the entire New Testament. Unfortunately, in Feb 2016, a relapse of cancer forced Phyllis to return to Singapore, and she passed away in Sep 2017. A group of 13 from Singapore and Malaysia attended the Bible dedication. This group included representatives from Wycliffe Singapore, Phyllis's supporting churches in Singapore and Malaysia, as well as her sister and nephew. They were joined in Manila by a group from Hong Kong. Together, they travelled to Romblon the same way Phyllis had so many times – by a nine-hour overnight journey on a ferry. The highlight of the celebration was a parade through the centre of town and past major landmarks. More than 100 people including the foreign visitors and members of the participating churches held banners and waved the new Bibles while marching together, calling out greetings to people en route. Next came a ceremony in the town hall. Many speeches were made by those who had been involved in the work, the visitors, and representatives of the Mayor and participating churches. Bibles were available for purchase after the ceremonies, and volunteers stood ready to help people to download digital apps for reading the Bible. The next day, a Sunday, the celebrations continued in the local churches. All praise to God for his gift of his word! Watch these videos: 1. Romblomanon New Testament dedication trailer (1.24 min) 2. Romblomanon New Testament dedication full story (8.35 min) 3. Incarnational ministry in Romblomanon (4.24 min)

by Evangeline For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. (Romans 12:4–6) Hannah, Project Coordinator We have often featured stories on missionaries undergoing training or already in the field involved in translation, literacy, community development and other frontline roles. However, did you know that the work of Wycliffe also requires administrative and supporting roles both on the field and in the national offices? While a good number of these roles are filled by missionaries, many of whom are also members of Wycliffe, some are filled by volunteers with the appropriate skills. The Wycliffe Singapore (WS) office is one such national office within the Wycliffe Global Alliance. Locally based Wycliffe members serve in a variety of ways ranging from administration, to human resource, to leadership roles. In this multi-part series, we get up close with some members who have been working faithfully behind the scenes. In this first part, Hannah and Felicia*, Project Coordinators, share about their roles in coordinating the multiple projects that Wycliffe Singapore supports. What is the role of a Project Coordinator? Hannah and Felicia: In a nutshell, we raise prayer and financial support for projects in the field by writing proposals and updates of projects, presenting project information to current and potential supporters, and monitoring budgets and disbursement of funds. What types of projects are there, and why does WS support these projects? Hannah: Most projects involve Bible translation along with other activities such as scripture engagement, community development, literacy and multilingual education. Bible translation projects usually start with the New Testament (NT), which can take about 10 years. The project may also include some Old Testament (OT) books like Genesis and Exodus and some of the prophets which give background and context to the Christian faith, or may be of greater relevance to the culture of the target people group. Scripture engagement is also very important. Since the process of translation is a long-drawn-out one, there is no need to wait for the whole NT or OT to be completely translated before distribution. Once a single book is done, it can be released for use along with other resources like the Jesus film, Sunday school materials, songs and Bible study materials in the native language. Some projects begin by translating only selected Bible passages or crafting stories based on Bible passages. These tend to be easier to introduce to a people group because they are more like storytelling. It is also a good way to test the interest of the community as well as whet their appetite for Christ, before turning it into a full-fledged Bible translation project. Besides Bible translation, many projects also include some form of community development which seeks to empower communities through improving adult literacy, or helping them earn some income. Multilingual education projects also teach children to read and write in their own language before moving on to do so in their national language. These projects have proven to be highly effective in reducing the school dropout rate of children from minority groups who do not speak the national language as their first language. How does WS find projects to fund, and what are the criteria for choosing projects to support? Felicia: Usually, when projects need support or funding, the missionaries there will seek support from various Wycliffe entities, including us. The criteria we take into consideration when choosing whether to support a project include factors like the status of the language—whether it is still being spoken widely or on the brink of extinction, the population of the people group, community involvement and how well the project is managed. We tend to give preference to projects that are under entities that we have relationships with, or projects where our own members are involved. What kind of support does WS provide and how does this benefit different projects? Hannah: Mostly, we provide financial and prayer support. Sometimes, we send people to do short-term work as well. Occasionally, we may try to obtain and send over equipment such as laptops and cameras if the project needs them. What are some challenges faced when coordinating support for the various projects? Felicia: It can be quite difficult to attract churches in Singapore to provide support if they feel that the projects are too expensive, too close to home (not exotic enough), or too far away (too exotic). Some of them can be more oriented towards what the church wants to do rather than what the projects actually need. Hannah: Some project managers don’t provide us with sufficient material, reports or photos to promote the project. Additionally, due the sensitive nature of many locations, we usually cannot use real names or share openly about projects. It can be difficult to raise support when we are not able to give potential donors enough information. Can you share some encouraging stories with us? Hannah: There is one particular project which has a very supportive church as well as a very responsive project manager. This project manager engages with the supporting church regularly so that the church is able to understand first-hand and provide for the financial and prayer needs of the project. Over time, she has become so close to the church that she has now become a member of the church. Felicia: I’ve encountered a similar case where the entire church got very involved in the project that they were supporting. They made many trips to visit the project, and even the children in the church brought along their piggy bank savings to contribute to the project. How and what would you advise an individual or church who is considering supporting a project financially? Felicia: The church or individual should think about what kind of project they are looking to support. Due to the long-drawn-out process of translation, we ask for a minimum commitment period of at least three years so that the project is given sufficient time to find its footing. If they decide not to continue after that period, we will try to find other supporters or, failing that, cease funding the project. Hannah: When choosing a project to support, it is good to remember that even if a particular unreached people group is small, they still matter because they need to have access to God’s Word in their language. What are some general things that prayer supporters can pray for? Hannah: Pray for the translation work in each project – that the translation teams will have the wisdom to use the right words to render the key terms, and in so doing, come up with translations that are natural, accurate, and clear for the people receiving the Word. Pray that the translated material will be effectively distributed and land in the hands of people who need to know God. The ultimate aim is that their lives will be transformed by encountering God through the scriptures. Finally, pray for the people who have yet to come to know God, and for new believers. Very often, people from unreached people groups also face pressure and opposition from their society and family if they choose to follow God. *Not her real name

by Sharon Tan © Freepik.com There is one question every parent asks when considering an overseas missions or work assignment – “But what about my kids?” While most parents know that their children will gain much from the overseas experience, they are understandably concerned about the challenges of fitting into Singapore society and re-entering the Singapore school system on return. Everyone has heard about returnees who were unhappy in Singapore school, unable to settle back in Singapore, and clamouring to leave again. Third culture kids Increasing numbers of Singaporean children live overseas because of their parents’ work, whether on the mission field or in a secular job. These children grow up, make friends and go to school in a host culture, learn the host language and absorb aspects of this culture. These children are third culture kids (TCKs): [A] person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture. The TCK frequently builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the TCK’s life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of the same background. (Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, by David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken, 1st ed., 1999.) © Freepik.com Pros and cons of being a TCK The third culture is not any combination of cultures but comes from the experience of living an internationally mobile lifestyle. Some of the positive outcomes for many TCKs are high linguistic ability, cultural sensitivity, flexibility, an international orientation, and curiosity about the world. Those who have seen poverty up close often display empathy for the poor and underprivileged. They are likely to be more mature and independent than average, and also more culturally accepting and thus able to create community from diversity. As adults, they are much sought-after by multinational corporations for these traits. While these traits are very attractive, being a TCK comes at a price. TCKs often lack a sense of belonging and connection which can lead to psychological and self-esteem issues, as well as unresolved grief. They may suffer from a confused identity and feel rootless and restless. The pain from frequent goodbyes may lead them to avoid investing in deep friendships. Their education may suffer because of the frequent moves and changes of school. Returning home All TCKs experience some degree of difficulty when returning to their “home” country. They are asked to embrace a place and culture as home when they barely remember it, or have known it only as tourists for a few weeks a year. For school-aged children, especially teenagers, a sense of belonging to school and good friendships with peers are strongly associated with good psychological and social adjustment. If they encounter difficulties in making friends or coping with their studies, it can lead to a downward spiral of psychological issues, physical illnesses, and even resentment against God. What TCKs need is help in building and maintaining some familiarity with their home culture and friends, and a positive attitude towards it, even during the years they live overseas. Impossible? It isn’t – but it takes some thought and preparation, and has to be an ongoing, long-term effort, ideally beginning even before the family leaves to go overseas. The bulk of the responsibility is the parents’, but they need their supporters and churches to partner with them too. These strategies range from telling stories about Singapore life and learning some Singlish, to arranging school immersions and play dates in Singapore. Waiting till just a few months before re-entry, or worse, only after returning, will be too little, too late. Tips for parents and supporters Our family spent more than 10 years overseas, and we did our best to make the transition easier for our daughters who were 14 and 16 years old when we returned to Singapore. Although it took quite a bit of planning and effort, it was a great joy and blessing to see them make friends and settle well into school and church in Singapore. Truly, God’s hand has been at work in our family’s journey. We have written a book, This Is Home, Surely?: A Guide for Parents of Singaporean Third Culture Kids, based on our experiences in preparing our children for re-entry to Singapore during the years we were overseas. We hope that these ideas will be a blessing to other families with TCKs too. David Tan is the Executive Director of Wycliffe Singapore, while Sharon serves in Communications. Their daughters are now 22 and 20 years old and pursuing university studies.

Stories from the Field, 7 Feb 2023 by Blessy Vera Khor has been a Bible Translation consultant since 2012. She served the Obo Manobo in the Philippines, translating the Bible, hymn books and health books into their language. The New Testament was completed and dedicated in 2011, and some portions of the Old Testament have also been translated. When someone mentions Bible translation, what comes to mind? The very complex processes of translating, and the technical expertise that is expected from a Bible translator? Vera’s story tells us that there is more than that! When Vera heard God’s call to missions in 1982, she hesitated because she was not confident in her ability. She was then working as a maid in Kampar, Malaysia. God, however, showed her that he was more concerned with her availability, and so she responded to the call. She went through the first SIL training course for Asians in Singapore in 1987, and was assigned to the Philippines in 1988. A year later, she went to the Obo Manobo tribe and dedicated the next two decades of her life to translating the Bible into their language. She first had to navigate unfamiliar circumstances, cultures, places and people that challenged her in personal ways. The people lived in very remote areas on the slopes of Mount Apo where travelling was a challenge. Electricity was limited. Food was different. The people considered themselves the poorest of the poor. When she arrived, the people were ashamed to speak their language, and they lived in constant fear of spirits, witchcraft and superstitions. Even those who were Christians carried charms. Most people did not know how to read, and the preacher was the only person who had a Bible, which was not in their ethnic language. The Word was preached in English that the listeners could not understand. Vera felt the great need for the people to know and understand who Jesus is, and the power that came from having a personal relationship with him. But they could only experience this if they could understand the Word preached to them. She could not begin translating immediately as she needed to learn the language. The Obo Manobo language also didn’t have a writing system. So she lived with the people with the goal of learning their language. She studied their culture by whatever means available, like attending celebrations such as weddings, funerals and birthdays. She and her partner in the field did what they could to help the people. They became like a health clinic handing medicines out for fevers and coughs; a bank where the people could change their banknotes; a pawnshop where they could leave their precious radio for 200 pesos. They were the village’s official photographers during funerals and weddings! Their doors were open 12 hours a day to cater to the people’s needs. In this way, they were able to gather and record stories, build up a dictionary and, more importantly, come up with a writing system that represented the sounds in the Obo Manobo language. Only then could the rigorous process of translating God’s Word begin. It took Vera and her team about two decades to complete the New Testament translation into the Obo Manobo language. But Vera’s mission work didn’t stop after translating the Bible. She became much more than a translator. There was a need for continuing work to reach over 20 different groups of the Obo Manobo (about 70,000 speakers) spread across 6 different districts. She and her team continued to train people so that they too could become the teachers of their language. They also encouraged the pastors and church leaders of different churches and denominations to take ownership of the Bible translation they now had. Recognising that the translation of the New Testament was not enough, they continued working on the translation of the Old Testament. For God’s Word to reach more people, a 30-minute live radio programme was also started, and a training centre was erected to facilitate Bible training courses for local leaders. At present, Vera is working as a translation consultant and no longer stays with the Obo Manobo people. However, she continues to make trips there as she believes there is still a lot of work to do. She sees the need to train the pastors and workers not only in the Bible, but also hymns, and to provide guidance as to how to introduce these to the community. There is also a need to ensure the sustainability of the language and the available resources through expanding literacy programmes for children. They have begun to invest in digital libraries for schools. Armed with a computer, a big TV screen and the translated Manobo materials, teachers are empowered to preserve the language among the younger generation. The work is far from completion. Vera went to the Obo Manobo with the goal of sharing God’s love by helping them to have a Bible in their heart language. However, her work went beyond translating God’s Word, and has served as God’s way to redeem and preserve Obo Manobo culture while building confidence in their identity. Vera’s life has been a journey of being faithful to God’s call and sharing God’s love for the people, using whatever ability that God has given her.

by Sharon Tan Cluster Munition Coalition Art Therapy Workshop, Philippines Some individuals, families, and even entire ethnic groups may have suffered from experiences that give rise to psychological and emotional trauma. Some continue to do so for prolonged periods. Many minority peoples, because of where they live and their lower socio-economic status, have suffered traumas as a community. Christians working among these people often feel the need to help these people experience the healing that comes from God. But how can they reach out in a cross-culturally appropriate and effective way? What is psychological trauma? Psychological trauma can be caused by extremely stressful events such as violence, abuse or disasters that destroy a person’s sense of security. The events may be sudden and of short duration, such as earthquake, or may have persisted for a long period of time, such as domestic or sexual abuse. The victim may have experienced the event directly, or may have been a witness to the event. These experiences can cause him to feel helpless and leave behind a legacy of disturbing emotions, memories and anxiety. He may feel numb, disconnected, and unable to trust others (and God). Resilience The ultimate goal of trauma healing is to help the victims of trauma build up psychological resilience, i.e. the emotional or mental ability to cope with the aftermath of crisis or stressful events and recover from it. In order to achieve this, they often need help to discover a new framework to understand and process past experiences, and develop ways to recover their sense of stability and control over their lives. Beyond that, they need a new or restored relationship with God. Traditional therapy for victims of trauma takes the form of talking through the experiences and emotions with a therapist. The therapist aims to create a safe relationship with the victim so that the victim is able to cope with memories of the traumatic event. Through talking about the event, the victim is helped to reframe the traumatic experiences more objectively. This stabilises and regulates the body's responses to the stressful events and memories, and brings healing to the victim. However, some victims find that talking about the trauma forces them to repeatedly relive the experiences, and the process of undergoing this type of therapy may be too painful to be helpful. A man plays a lyre. Photo: Marc Ewell, Wycliffe Global Alliance Art therapy Using involvement in expressive arts as a means of healing from trauma and loss is not new. All cultures have developed practices such as rituals, conventions, procedures and ceremonies as a way to deal with traumatic events. When art therapy is used to help victims of trauma process a distressing event, the victim is encouraged to express memories and feelings through some form of art. Many people find it easier to express their emotions through artistic media than words as the artistic activity engrosses the mind and releases the inhibitions which block the victim from thinking about the trauma. Using art is also an effective way to address issues that may be too difficult, disturbing or taboo to express in words. Engaging in an artistic activity also helps reduce stress and increase relaxation, which in itself promotes healing. Working through sensory activities such as drawing, singing, role-playing, writing or dancing also enables more vivid recollection, and can help the victim express feelings and emotions more clearly. Memories, some of which may have been suppressed because of the pain and trauma they are associated with, can be made visible through art when words are inadequate. This is particularly effective when dealing with children or working cross-culturally, as difficulties with language can be an obstacle in talk therapy. Art therapy has been found to be very effective in group situations as well, for example, when an entire community has suffered the same traumatic event such as a natural disaster or war, or when several individuals have suffered similar traumas. Engaging in art-making together creates a shared identity among the victims and fosters communal support. This aspect of group art therapy is particularly effective when working in communal cultures, as many ethnic minority cultures are. A band plays traditional music. Photo: Sarah Halferty, Wycliffe Global Alliance Ethnoarts When working in a cross-cultural or cross-linguistic environment, art-making activities have been shown to enhance communication by bridging language and cultural barriers. When these art-making activities involve the use of familiar art forms such as visual symbols, movements, sounds or music in culturally appropriate ways, victims are able express themselves more naturally. This improves healing while at the same time affirming the value of that group’s cultural heritage. God loves every “nation, tribe, people and language”. Providing a safe space for a person or community to tell their story of trauma using their culture’s art forms is just another way of reaching out to them with God’s hand of love. The Linguistics Institute of Payap University in Chiangmai regularly holds Ethnoarts training courses. Find out more here.

For our second session in the Work@Wycliffe series, we invited Mr and Mrs Teoh, Bible storying specialists and consultants, to share about oral storying projects they have been involved in. First, they distinguished between an ‘audio Bible’, which is essentially a recording of a print Bible being read aloud, and an ‘oral Bible’ which is in a natural, colloquial style. An oral Bible could be a selection of stories targeted for a specific audience, or entire books of the Bible, or the whole Bible. The oral style is particularly suitable for listeners who are pre-literate, or prefer to learn through oral means, or are unfamiliar with the language of available Bibles. Oral storying projects are usually of shorter duration and therefore less intimidating to begin with than full Bible translation projects. They also bear ‘fruit’ earlier! Typically, a storying project will aim to craft a set of about 20 stories over a period of two to three years. The goal of such projects is to produce stories that are easily understood and remembered, and also easily retold to others. After gaining confidence and skills through oral crafting of stories, teams often go on to translate entire books of the Bible or even the whole Bible. One of the projects that the speakers have been involved in is the Hakka Oral Bible project in Borneo using the OneStory[1] approach. The Hakka-speaking Chinese population there is large, but most of them do not read Chinese and do not speak Mandarin. They may speak and read the national language, but not very well. As a result, there is no Bible they can read or understand well. The Hakka Oral Bible project began in 2014, and for three years, four storying workshops were held each year, each lasting three weeks. During each workshop, the facilitators (the Teohs) worked with the native Hakka speakers to craft and check a few stories. By the end of the project, they had crafted 27 stories. Working in the national language (because the facilitators did not speak Hakka), the native speakers would listen several times to a recording of the Bible passage that was to be crafted. They would then reflect on the passage, and retell the story in the national language until they captured all the details accurately. After discussing the meaning and deciding how to render key terms in Hakka, they would practise retelling the story in Hakka until they felt they had a clear, accurate and natural draft. To help them remember the details, the crafters often used storyboards – rough sketches like a comic strip. Once they were satisfied with the story, it would be recorded. The recording would then be played to groups of testers from the community to check for clarity and naturalness. The listeners were asked questions to test how well they understood the story. They were also asked to retell the story – if it had been well crafted, the listeners should be able to recall and retell it quite easily! If the listeners had difficulties retelling the story, it would indicate that revision was needed. Every story was worked and reworked in this way. Once a story was revised and retested, it was then shared with the community. Some groups might use them for discussion in story fellowship groups, just like any Bible study. For the Hakka team, producing oral stories was just the beginning. They went on to translate (orally) the book of Luke, the script for the Jesus film as well as worship songs, and are now working on Acts. Some people liked the recordings so much that they played them until their players broke down! Others played the recordings in their shops for their customers to hear. Listen to some oral materials in Chinese dialects: Voice of Hakka – stories, Luke, Jesus film, songs, etc. in Pontianak Hakka. Gospel of Mark (on YouTube) – in Penang Hokkien. Bible stories – in KL Cantonese. Wycliffe Singapore plans to start a project to tell Bible stories in colloquial Chinese dialects. [1] The OneStory method is just one of many storying approaches. Read more about orality on the International Orality Network website.

Stories from the Field, 5 July 2022 “A Bible translator must have three loves: Love God; Love God’s Word; Love people and the languages that they speak.” Poh San, who shared this, started her journey as a Bible translator in 1974. She left her job as a primary school teacher, did theological studies, joined Wycliffe Bible Translators and underwent linguistics training. While working on the Mauwake translation in Papua New Guinea (PNG), she and her team mate, Liisa, also ran workshops to train translators, trainers and consultants. In the mid-80s, PNG churches and leaders had felt the need to train more locals to do translation and be trainers. She and Liisa told themselves: “We are not here to translate just one Bible for one group of people; we are here to do translation for the nation.” So they spent a few months of each year running workshops for 30-40 local people at a time, 2-3 from each language group. Some of those she trained have not only served their own people and other groups in PNG, but gone on to serve in other Pacific nations as well. Later, Poh San also trained to be a consultant, and helped to check translations for other groups. She saw how the lack of consultants was a major bottleneck in Bible translation in PNG and in Asia. Now, at nearly 80 years old, she is still consulting over Zoom from her home in Singapore, and helping to train and mentor new consultants. What skills do translation consultants need? First, they need the same skills as Bible translators, and should have experience in translating. These skills are many and multifaceted. Academic knowledge of the Bible and linguistics are necessary but not sufficient, and many skills can only be built up through experience. Consultants not only check Bible translations before publication, but they also help to train the translators and other consultants. Another important factor in Bible translation, besides the usual three (clarity, accuracy, naturalness), is “acceptability”. Translators have to work with the local people and existing churches (if any) to ensure that the words and phrases chosen are acceptable to them. If not, the resulting translation may end up not being used by the churches and community. Listening to Poh San was a real inspiration – her love for God, his Word and the unreached really shone through, as well as her desire to continue to “pass the baton” to others as long as she is able. May God continue to convict his people to make his Word available to the unreached in their own languages. Stories from the Field will be held on the first Tuesday of each month. Get on our mailing list to be notified of future events.

Stories from the Field, 2 Aug 2022 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:14) The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue . It needs no furlough and is never considered a foreigner . - William Cameron Townsend, founder of Wycliffe Bible Translators. Pastor Tharawat, the Executive Director of Wycliffe Thai Foundation (Wycliffe Thailand) since 2012, shared that the vision of Wycliffe Thailand is not limited to Thailand alone – they hope to see a Bible translation project begin in all remaining languages in Southeast Asian countries that need one by 2025. To this end, they hope to partner with Thai churches and like-minded individuals to engage in Bible translation, literacy, scripture engagement and community development with the aim of making disciples for Christ. Currently, Wycliffe Thailand has 4 ongoing Bible translation and literacy projects: one in a people group in north Thailand, and 3 others in groups from neighbouring countries. One of these is the Tang* project in a neighbouring country. Like many similar ethnic groups, girls are not sent to school but are expected to work on the farms. Many are married off as young as 11-12 years old. The literacy project has given these girls a chance to learn to read and write, and some have become teachers in Sunday School. In a video, two young ladies, A* (15) and J* (18), both said that they had not even realised that their language could be written down, and only saw the writing system after they started attending church. Reading the Bible in their own language has helped them learn more about God and His will because they understand it better than the national language. Pastor Tharawat also shared other programmes which are conducted by Wycliffe Thailand. Camp Wycliffe, which was much missed during the pandemic, is a 5-day experiential mission trip which includes instruction as well as a village stay. There are plans to hold this twice a year. The next one is planned for 14-18 November 2022. If you'd like to join this year's trip, do contact us for more details! Besides this, Wycliffe Thailand also runs Discovery trips twice a year to neighbouring countries, which are open to participants from outside Thailand. There are also programmes which reach out to local Thai churches to engage their interest and forge partnerships. Some prayer items for Wycliffe Thailand: Pray that the first phase of building the Wycliffe Thailand office in Chiangmai will go smoothly. Pray for the development of a training centre in northeast Thailand, and for suitable people to head the literacy and agriculture programmes. Pray for the 19 members of Wycliffe Thailand who are serving in different fields, and for new members preparing to go into the field. * Not the actual names. Stories from the Field will be held on the first Tuesday of each month. Get on our mailing list to be notified of future events.